1 Samuel 14:1-15. Jonathan's deed of daring 1. _that bare his armour_ A confidential attendant like the _squire_of the middle ages. _But he told not his father_ For fear lest he should forbid so hazardous an attempt. From this point to the end of 1 Samuel 14:5 we have a series of clauses introduce... [ Continue Reading ]
_the uttermost part of Gibeah_ Here at any rate _Gibeah_seems to denote a _district_. See note on 1 Samuel 10:5. Saul was stationed probably at the northern extremity of it, under " THE pomegranate tree which is in Migron." So we find him afterwards "under the tamarisk in Gibeah" (1 Samuel 22:6). _M... [ Continue Reading ]
_And Ahiah, the son of Ahitub_ AND [THERE WAS WITH HIM] AHIAH, or AHIJAH, as the name is usually transliterated. Ahijah is perhaps the same as Ahimelech the son of Ahitub, the priest at Nob, who was the victim of Saul's sacrilegious vengeance (1 Samuel 22:9). The name _Ahijah_= "brother of Jah" and... [ Continue Reading ]
_And between the passages_, &c. The scene of Jonathan's adventure is accurately described. The "passages" appear to be ravines running down into the main valley, by which it was possible to get down and cross over. "In the valley, [the _Wady es-Suweinit_ just at the left of where we crossed, are two... [ Continue Reading ]
_the forefront of the one_, &c. Lit. THE ONE CRAG (lit. _tooth_) WAS A PILLAR ON THE NORTH IN FRONT OF MICHMASH, AND THE OTHER ON THE SOUTH IN FRONT OF GEBA. The Sept. omits "a pillar.... [ Continue Reading ]
_these uncircumcised_ A frequent epithet of abhorrence for the Philistines. Here it has a special significance, for it indicates that Jonathan's hope of success was based on the reflection that the Philistines stood in no covenant-relation to Jehovah, as Israel did. _there is no restraint to the Lor... [ Continue Reading ]
_turn thee_ The reading of the Heb. text is doubtful, and that of the Sept. perhaps to be preferred. "Do all unto which thine heart inclineth: behold I am with thee: my heart is as thy heart.... [ Continue Reading ]
_this shall be a sign unto us_ "THE SIGN" is clearly regarded by Jonathan as an intimation of the Divine will. Cp. Genesis 24:14; Judges 6:36 ff., and ch. 1 Samuel 2:34, note.... [ Continue Reading ]
_the holes where they had hid themselves_ See 1 Samuel 13:6. Travellers speak of numerous caverns in the limestone rocks of the district.... [ Continue Reading ]
_we will shew you a thing_ Either, "give you some information;" or, "teach you a lesson." Cp. Judges 8:16. Perhaps a colloquial phrase, used of course contemptuously.... [ Continue Reading ]
_Jonathan climbed up upon his hands and upon his feet_ "Immediately to the east of the village of Michmash exists a natural fortress, still called -the fort" by the peasantry. It is a ridge rising in three rounded knolls above a perpendicular crag, ending in a narrow tongue to the east with cliffs b... [ Continue Reading ]
_within as it were a half acre of land which a yoke of oxen might plow_ Lit. IN ABOUT HALF A FURROW OF A YOKE OF LAND. "A yoke of land" may denote such a piece of land as a yoke of oxen would plough in one day, a natural measure for an agricultural people to use. "The furrow of a yoke" will then den... [ Continue Reading ]
_in the host, in the field_ IN THE CAMP IN THE FIELD, the main army as distinguished from the outpost which Jonathan had attacked. _the earth quaked_ Perhaps this only describes the tumult and confusion of the Philistine host (cp. 1 Samuel 4:5), but possibly an earthquake augmented the general pani... [ Continue Reading ]
The rout of the Philistines 16. _in Gibeah of Benjamin_ If _Tuleil-el-Fûl_is the true site of the town of Gibeah, we must either suppose that Gibeah is here used of the surrounding district, or read _Geba_for Gibeah, since according to Lieut. Conder, Michmash is not visible from _Tuleil-el-Fûl_. Se... [ Continue Reading ]
_Number now_ The word denotes a _muster_or _parade_of the troop for inspection.... [ Continue Reading ]
_Bring hither the ark of God_ Saul wished to "inquire of God" before going to battle. See Numbers 27:21. But apart from the fact that we have no mention of the transportation of the Ark from Kirjath-jearim, it was not the Ark, but the Ephod with Urim and Thummim which was the proper instrument for a... [ Continue Reading ]
_Withdraw thine hand_ Desist from the inquiry. With characteristic impatience Saul would not wait for God's answer.... [ Continue Reading ]
_every man's sword was against his fellow_ Cp. Judges 7:22; 2 Chronicles 20:23.... [ Continue Reading ]
_the Hebrews that were with the Philistines_ Either renegade Israelites who had taken service in the Philistine army, or forced levies from the districts occupied by the Philistines. The name "Hebrews" by which they were known to the Philistines is used to distinguish them from the "Israelites" who... [ Continue Reading ]
_So the Lord saved Israel_ Cp. Exodus 14:30; 2 Chronicles 32:22. _unto Beth-aven_ Saul crossed the valley from Geba to Michmash, and drove the Philistines back in a north-westerly direction to Beth-aven, half way between Michmash and Bethel. Thence the pursuit was across the watershed, and headlong... [ Continue Reading ]
Jonathan's breach of Saul's rash oath 24. _were distressed that day: for Saul_, &c. Render, AND THE MEN OF ISRAEL WERE DISTRESSED THAT DAY. AND SAUL CAUSED THE PEOPLE TO SWEAR, &c. Seeing the fatigued condition of the army, and fearing lest they should relinquish the pursuit to get food, Saul rashly... [ Continue Reading ]
_behold, the honey dropped_ Lit. BEHOLD A STREAM OF HONEY. Palestine is literally "a land flowing with milk and honey" (Exodus 3:8). Wild bees settle in vast numbers in the clefts of the limestone rocks and in the trees. Compare the statement of a traveller in India, where "the forests literally flo... [ Continue Reading ]
_his eyes were enlightened_ Cp. Psalms 13:3. His bodily powers were refreshed. The opposite idea is conveyed by the Heb. words for _fainting_, which are derived from roots meaning -to be shrouded in darkness.... [ Continue Reading ]
_straitly_ i.e. strictly. Cp. Exodus 13:19; Joshua 6:1. And the _people were faint_ Better, AND THE PEOPLE ARE FAINT, or WEARY: words of the speaker, not a comment by the historian.... [ Continue Reading ]
_hath troubled_ The word applied to Achan in Joshua 7:25.... [ Continue Reading ]
The sin of the people 31. _from Michmash to Aijalon_ See note on 1 Samuel 14:23.... [ Continue Reading ]
_the people did eat them with the blood_ As soon as it was evening, the fasting people flew upon the spoil to satisfy their hunger, and in doing so transgressed the primeval prohibition (Genesis 9:4), which was re-enacted in the Mosaic law (Leviticus 17:10-14), and observed in the early days of the... [ Continue Reading ]
_this day_ Rather, FORTHWITH. But the Sept. reads "here," perhaps rightly.... [ Continue Reading ]
_the same was the first altar_ Lit. "it he began to build as an altar to Jehovah." The E. V. probably gives the right sense. The altar was erected as a thank-offering for the victory. "The great stone" most likely formed part of it.... [ Continue Reading ]
The consequence of Jonathan's transgression 36. _Let us draw near hither unto God_ Ahijah checks Saul's impulse, reminding him that it was necessary first to ascertain the will of God. Perhaps he felt that Saul's neglect to wait for God's answer in the morning (1 Samuel 14:19) had already borne evi... [ Continue Reading ]
_asked counsel of God_ INQUIRED OF GOD, the same verb as in 1 Samuel 10:22, See note there.... [ Continue Reading ]
_the chief of the people_ Lit. "the corner-stones of the people," as in Judges 20:2, probably the elders or heads of houses. _wherein this sin hath been_ Saul assumes that some undiscovered sin must have caused God to refuse an answer, as Achan's trespass led Him to withdraw His Presence and abando... [ Continue Reading ]
_Give a perfect lot_ This and not the marginal rendering "Shew the innocent" is the best explanation of an obscure phrase which occurs nowhere else. The Sept. however has a very different reading, which with some emendation may be rendered, "And Saul said, O Lord God of Israel, why hast thou not an... [ Continue Reading ]
_And Saul said_, &c. Again the Sept. text is fuller. "And Saul said, Cast lots between me and Jonathan my son: whomsoever the Lord taketh by lot, let him die. And the people said unto Saul, This thing shall not be. And Saul prevailed over the people, and they cast lots between him and Jonathan his s... [ Continue Reading ]
_Tell me_ In like manner Joshua moved Achan to confess, when the lot had fixed upon him as the "troubler of Israel" (Joshua 7:19). _I did but taste_, &c. I DID CERTAINLY TASTE … HERE I AM: I WILL DIE. Jonathan's words are not a lamentation over his hard fate, as the E. V. implies, but a confession... [ Continue Reading ]
_there shall not one hair of his head fall to the ground_ See 2 Samuel 14:11; 1 Kings 1:52; Matthew 10:30; Luke 21:18; Acts 27:34. _he hath wrought with God_ Compare Jonathan's own words in 1 Samuel 14:6. _the people rescued Jonathan_ "There was now a freer and more understanding spirit in the nati... [ Continue Reading ]
Summary account of Saul's wars and family 47. _So Saul took the kingdom_ The various wars undertaken by Saul whom the people elected king "to go out before them and fight their battles" are here summarily noticed. (1) Against Moab. See note on 1 Samuel 11:1. (2) Against the children of Ammon, as rec... [ Continue Reading ]
_gathered a host_ Better, DID VALIANTLY, as in Numbers 24:18; Psalms 40:12. _smote the Amalekites_ As recorded at length in ch. 15.... [ Continue Reading ]
_Ishui_ Since in ch. 1 Samuel 31:2 and 1 Chronicles 10:2, the names of the sons who fell with Saul at Gilboa are given as Jonathan, Abinadab and Melchishua, and in the genealogies of 1 Chronicles 8:33; 1 Chronicles 9:39 these three are again mentioned with the addition of Esh-Baal or Ish-bosheth, it... [ Continue Reading ]
_Abner the son of Ner Saul's uncle_ Grammatically, "Saul's uncle" might refer either to Abner or to Ner, but it is almost certain that it must refer to the latter, so that Saul and Abner were first cousins. 1 Samuel 14:51 should be read, according to Josephus, "AND KISH THE FATHER OF SAUL AND NER TH... [ Continue Reading ]
_Abiel_ It has been conjectured that _Abiel_is the same as _Jehiel_"the father" or founder of Gibeon, 1 Chronicles 9:35, and that _Gibeon_is identical with _Gibeah_; but this is doubtful.... [ Continue Reading ]
_he took him_ to serve in his permanent corps of picked soldiers (1 Samuel 13:4).... [ Continue Reading ]